This Saturday in Queensland the Toowoomba Cup 2018 will be run and won in the Darling Downs and the latest markets on the capacity field of stayers has the Ben Currie-trained former champion Honey Toast on top.
Due to run as Race 7 at 4:02pm (AEST), this year’s $100,000 Toowoomba Cup (2000m) attracted the full 14 starters plus two widely-drawn emergencies.
Also out wide in gate 13, into 12 with the spares out, is the current favourite in Toowoomba Cup betting Honey Toast paying $3.70 and firming through Ladbrokes.com.au to post a second win in the autumn showdown.
After opening at $6 for the win the money has come in hard and fast for the Redoute’s Choice seven-year-old who has a top record at the Toowoomba track with two wins and a second from three starts.
Saturday is the gelding’s first run there since saluting in the 2016 Toowoomba Cup results.
Honey Toast had a lengthy break from racing between May of 2016 and February this year and looked back to his better form when a nose beaten over 2030m at Doomben on March 24.
Jim Byrne continues his association with Honey Toast who will also relish a drop back from 58kg last start to 54.5kg on the weekend.
There are four other single-figure hopes in the Toowoomba Cup odds for 2018 including the $4.60 second favourite Doubt Defying chasing a fourth win on the trot from gate six.
The in-form Steven O’Dea-trained Not A Single Doubt four-year-old won twice over the Sunshine Coast mile before heading to the Gold Coast on March 17 for a barnstorming three and a quarter-length win over 1800m.
Doubt Defying gets the chance to prove his potential over further than that for the first time in the Toowoomba Cup and comes off hard-to-knock form.
Equal $5.50 third elects Morendi and Exoteric drawn well in gates five and two respectively follow in the markets.
Michael Cahill sticks aboard Darryl McCabe’s Onemorenomore five-year-old Morendi who comes back from 59kg to 55.5kg.
Having his first start at Toowoomba, the Murwillumbah-based gelding saluted over 2200m at Doomben two back before finishing third in the blanket finish race Honey Toast comes out of.
Champs Elysees five-year-old Exoteric meanwhile is based at the Gold Coast for Sydney’s premier trainer Chris Waller.
The European expat comes off his second win down under having looked very dominant saluting by nearly four lengths over 2200m at the Gold Coast on March 17.
Exoteric carried 57.5kg that day having made up all the late ground for the commanding win and will be flying on just 54kg this weekend with apprentice Lee Magorrian in the saddle again.
Rounding out the hopes under $10 to win at $8.50 is then Get On The Grange, the Allan Kehoe-trained eight-year-old down in grade after the close sixth to Auvray in Rosehill’s Group 3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) last month.
Prior to that the veteran stayer finished third in the Listed Canberra Cup (2000m) and he chases his first win since July last year.
Check out the full Toowoomba Cup 2018 field and betting markets below, odds open online now through Ladbrokes.com.au.